Helping Hand
by mayo297
Summary: In this story Tony is NOT in a relationship with Pepper. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

It was a standard briefing after a mission. Tony had been sent to Middle East to check if their intel on The Ten Rings highly weaponizing was good. It was. They were packing _really _heavy. He needed to return to HQ and report on the situation.

So now he was sitting in the briefing room, where director Fury was debriefing him.

"You sure of what you saw? I mean, when you cut Stane's business with them, and Hammer's in county, where are they gettin' _that_ kinda firepower from?" Fury asked.

Tony scratched the top of his head.

"I don't know, director, but they are packing like they're about to start WW3. Got some scotch around here?"

The gaze of Fury's eye hardened a bit on Tony.

"No, stay serious for a second, just this once, Stark. What else did you see?" Maria Hill spoke for the first time. Until now she was just standing two meters behind the director's chair little to his left. Tony had a feeling she was always losing her patience when he was around. Of course he liked that. He could behave like a 16 year old sometimes.

"Well, _Agent Hill_, all I can say for _sure_ is that, that tech is not mine. The Russians maybe. Total guess." He answered looking at her with that playboy smirk of his.

Fury didn't say a word. His face was one unreadable mask.

Tony cleared his throat.

"Well, if that's all, I'll just…go."

"Yes, you're dismissed." Fury said.

Tony got up from his chair.

"Director" he said nodding his head to him. "Agent Hill."

She barely nodded in a goodbye. Tony sent her a wink. She rolled her eyes a little.

Tony smirked to himself how easy that was and walked out of the room.

Maria stood at ease after Tony left. "God, he can be annoying at times" she thought.

Then director Fury spoke.

"Agent Hill, I want you to send Romanoff to Russia to see if the weapons are coming from there. Put Barton as her back up."

"Yes, sir."

After that Fury made his way to the door.

When the door closed behind him, Maria let out a little sigh. She grabbed the walkie talkie on her left thigh.

"Hill to Romanoff, come in."

There was a short buzz of static and then

"Romanoff here."

Maria pressed the button again.

"Get to the debriefing room asap. Get Barton in here too."

"Roger that. On my way." Natasha said.

"Roger. Hill out."

After five minutes Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff were both standing in the room opposite Maria.

She started the briefing.

"Alright, here's the deal. Stark was doing some recon on the Middle East to see what The Ten Rings are up to. They've got some serious stash of weapons and they're not Stark's or Hammer's. We are trying to find out where are they coming from, so we can cut the head. We're sending you to Russia to check on their black market suppliers. You go in, find the source of the weapons and call for reinforcements. Don't play hero. Any questions?"

"I got one." Clint said. "When do we leave?"

Maria set her eyes on him.

"The chopper is being prepared as we speak. Anything else?"

"That'll suffice." Came Clint's answer. He looked at Natasha. "Another fun trip. You ready, Nat?"

"When wasn't I?" was all she said before she turned on her heel and left the room to go pack.

"You're dismissed. Be careful out there, Barton."

"When wasn't I?" he smirked.

When he left as well, Maria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. First Stark, now also Barton was beginning to behave like a teenager. Great.

Maria walked the hallways of the helicarrier on her way to her office.

To her big and not very welcome surprise, Tony Stark was standing before her office door, leaning on his shoulder against the wall.

"What do you want, Stark?" Maria asked. She _really_ wasn't in the mood for games. Especially not _his_.

"I've noticed you've been kinda stressed lately." Was his response to her.

_No shit._ She thought.

"So?"

He pushed himself off the wall and straightened his pose.

"_So_ I was gonna ask you to have a drink with me."

Maria smiled a little. _Typical Stark._

"Common, you shouldn't be this tense. It doesn't suit you. Plus it's bad for your health."

"These lines may work on those bimbos you have your one night stands with, or perhaps little, innocent miss Potts, but not me." Maria said.

Tony had to smile at that.

"Who's saying I'm trying to pick you up? I'm just asking you to have a drink with me. Offering a helping hand."

A hint of smile appeared on her face.

"Well, if you actually _were_ truing to pick me up, this certainly wouldn't do the trick."

"I like a challenge." Tony said.

Maria thought for a second. Sure he could be annoying and a little childish, but he was also charming when he wanted to be.

Finally she spoke.

"Fine. I'll have that drink with you. But if I feel that helping hand _anywhere_ on me, I will shoot you in the knee."

Tony couldn't help, but smile.

Maria spoke again: "Be in the hanger in thirty. And stop smiling like an idiot."

Tony gave her his most serious face and said "Yes ma'am." And with that, he walked always to get dressed properly.

Maria looked at his back as he was walking away. When he passed the corner, she walked into her office and closed the door behind her. She smiled to herself and slightly shook her head, as she couldn't believe what she just agreed to.

"Well, this is gonna be fun." She said out loud and walked to her wardrobe to pick a proper outfit for the evening.


	2. Chapter 2

As Tony waited for Maria in the hanger he was humming "Shoot to Thrill" by AC/DC to himself. He stood by one of the 'copters, dressed in worn blue jeans and his Black Sabath T shirt with his hands in his pockets.

He couldn't help but wonder about what was about to happen. He was going on a date with _Maria Hill. _THE Maria Hill. Well, they were going out for a drink, but Tony had his mind set on something more. And that didn't mean just sleeping with her. Other than her tearing him to tiny little pieces even if he was in his Iron Man armor, there were other reasons he didn't think of her as a one night stand. There was something about her that he simply couldn't resist. Maybe it was the ice queen routine she put on, but there was something about this woman that drove him to her.

He stopped humming when he heard footsteps. Two sets of them. That was a little weird, but Tony just waited.

Then Maria came into his view with another agent that he knew. It was agent Cole Handersson. He was dressed as a Coulson clone and walking by Maria's side.

She was…Tony was simply out of words to describe her.

The SHIELD uniform was gone, obviously, replaced by rather fitting jeans that hugged her really nicely, and even a little more on the right places. She was wearing a white tank top with a black leather jacket on it. The only thing that was similar to her everyday attire were the black leather boots. Her black hair, usually in a bun on the back of her head was now tied into a ponytail.

He must've had his eyes popping out of their sockets, or maybe he was even drooling, because when Maria looked at him, she had a smirk on her face.

Maria and agent Handersson stopped in front of Tony and he greeted them.

"Agent Hill, agent Handersson. Didn't expect to see you here, Cole." He said as he shook Cole's hand.

"Agent Handersson is gonna fly us to the city. Or did you think I would pilot under the influence?" Maria said.

Tony smiled a bit. "Well, that could be fun, but let's not try that right now."

They got into the chopper and flied out of the hanger doors.

Tony kept stealing glances at Maria all the way, no matter how hard he tried not to. He was certain that she noticed, but she kept quiet. None of them said a word the entire flight that took only about twenty minutes, because the helicarrier was really close to New York at that moment.

When they landed and dismissed Handersson, Maria finally spoke.

"So were are you planning on taking me, Mr. Stark?"

"You could call me Tony, Ms. Hill." He told her.

Maria put her hands on her hips and cocked her head slightly to the left.

"Okay, Tony. Where are we going?"

He gave her a little smile.

"Well _Maria_, that depends on you. Whether you'd like to go clubbin' or simply have a drink."

"I thought we were going for a drink." She continued their verbal shootout.

Tony crossed his arms on his chest.

"Yes, but I'm giving you a choice, because I am a gentleman with good manners _and_ because if you don't like it, you can't blame me. That's my alibi." He replied with a smile plastered across his face.

Maria copied his pose and pursed her lips in thought.

"Now that you mention it, I would like to dance in between my drinks."

Tony nodded and said: "I know just the place. C'mon."

And so Maria took a place at his right hand side and they started walking.

"What's this place you're taking me to called?" she asked as they were walking down the street.

"Moloch's." Tony answered. "Heard of it?"

Maria just shook her head.

The right corner of his lips shot up a bit.

"You'll see soon enough." He was really hoping she'd like it. He didn't wanna ruin their first date, even if it wasn't exactly a date. He wanted to leave a good impression, so he could have a chance to ask her on real date.

"How'd you hear of it?" came her next question.

"Been there a couple times with Rhodey and Happy."

Maria looked at him.

"Hope it's not a strip joint." She said in a joking manner.

"Nah, but I know a couple of those around, if you want to." Tony replied continuing in the joke. Well it wasn't _entirely _a joke, he _did_ know a few strip joints around the area, but he wasn't gonna take Maria to any of 'em.

She just smiled and rolled her eyes a little.

"We're here." Tony announced.

Maria looked at the building that had a big neon sign that read MOLOCH'S on it.

"Looks good."

"So let's check inside." Tony said already holding the door for her. "Ladies first."

Maria gave him a small smile as she was passing him.

Tony waited until she was inside, then released the door. He gave a minute to check her ass as she kept walking to the stairs that led down to the club. He shook his head. _Watch it, Tony. Of course she's in perfect shape, but you don't wanna blow your chance, as little as it may be by being inappropriate _he thought.

He moved to follow her and they walked down the stairs together.


	3. Chapter 3

As Tony and Maria were walking down the stairs, the music grew louder with each step. They reached the bottom and came into a lobby where Maria gave her jacket to the girl behind the counter. She gave Maria the ticket with a number and they kept walking to the double door before them.

Tony looked at Maria with a little mischievous smile.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yep, let's do this."

Tony opened one side of the door and they walked in.

Maria had to admit it looked really good. The bar was in the middle of the huge room, with dance floor all around it and booths with leather benches by the walls of the room. DJ's booth was up above on the balcony and there were also girls dancing on small platforms. She presumed it was the VIP zone. The lights weren't too disturbing or anything, Maria thought it was really a great place to let off some steam, which was exactly what she needed.

DJ was playing 2Pac's "California Love" that she liked a lot, that was something probably not a lot of people would have thought about her. Tony himself couldn't have called that. She looked over her shoulder at Tony, who had that smile on his face again.

Maria nodded her head to the bar. They made their way over there through the crowd of dancing bodies and leaned on the counter.

"What're you gonna have, Ms. Hill?" Tony asked her.

Maria smiled at him.

"I thought we were at the first name basis, or was I wrong?" she taunted him a bit. "I'll start with a beer."

Tony waved at the bartender with a hundred dollar bill. _ A hundred bucks for two beers, well the "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" he was, he could pay how much he wanted for whatever he wanted_ Maria thought. _Hell, he could easily buy this place. _

"Two beers, good fella, keep the change."

"Right away, sir." The boy in his early 20s said, bended under the counter, and came up with two cold bottles of Gennaro's and popped them open.

"There you go. Thank you." He said taking the bill from Tony.

Tony handed one of the bottles to Maria.

They clanged the bottles together.

"To less missions." Tony said.

Maria smirked.

"Amen to that."

They both took a sip and put the bottles on the counter.

"I heard you sent Romanoff and Barton to check out where are those weapons coming from."

"Yes, but I would prefer if we didn't talk about work." Maria answered him.

Tony took another sip of his beer.

"Yeah, I was just, you know…making conversation. Let's find a booth and talk there."

"Okay." That was all Maria said and followed Tony to the far corner of the room, where there was an empty booth. It was kinda dark compared to the other parts of the club, but that was just fine.

"This'll do." Tony said and took a seat, Maria joining him, sitting on the opposite bench. They put their bottles on the table and Tony spoke again.

"How did you even become an agent at SHIELD? Or _Why_ would be a better question."

Maria looked at him, tapping her fingertips on her bottle.

"I mean, if you don't mind me asking, it's a little work related, I just…wanna get to know you a little more, that's all."

She smiled.

"No, it's fine."

Taking another sip, she started her story.

"Well, when I graduated high school, I joined the Air force. There was just something about jets and being able to fly them that pulled me to it like a magnet or something. Of course the training was really hard and trust me, I mean _really_ hard. And being a woman didn't help."

Tony finished his beer and asked her.

"What, were they harassing you or something like that?"

"Some of them. But the commanding and supervising officers were extremely tough on women when they joined. A few ever lasted to make it, honestly."

Tony looked her in the eyes.

"Well, _I_ certainly wouldn't harass you knowing what you could do to me."

A smile danced on Maria's lips.

"I was only _learning _that stuff back then, so…"

"I would say you've got ass-kicking in your blood. And why did you join the Air force? To piss off your old man or…?" Tony asked

Maria downed the remaining beer and set the bottle down.

"No. To make him proud. He was there once too. He passed away a year before I finished high school."

Tony had a big urge to hold her hand that she left o the table, but he remembered very well that part she said about shooting him in the knee.

"Sorry about that. I know what's that like. And I'm sure he _is_ proud. What you do, I can't imagine _any_ parent who wouldn't be proud that his daughter is saving the world practically every day."

Maria blinked away a couple tears and thanked him.

The DJ started playing "I like it, I love it" by Lyrics Born and Tony stood up.

"Ooh, I really like this one. And I thought you wanted to dance between drinks. We finished our beer, so common."

She gave him a genuine smile and got up.

While they were making their way to the dance floor, Tony was already dancing, obviously having a great time. Maria let out a little laugh walking behind him. She was having a great time too. Hell, she was having a blast right now watching him make a fool of himself. He really didn't mind. They arrived in the middle of the dance floor and Tony's jaw dropped after a while when he watched her dance.

It was incredible. Tony swore she could have been a dancer had she not joined the Air force. He simply couldn't believe his eyes. She moved like no other girl he'd _ever _seen. Like a braid in the wind, it was so beautiful, she completely lost herself in the music, closing her eyes, swaying her hips in the rhythm of the beat. He really wished it could last for eternity. He never would've thought he would see Maria Hill like this.

_I'm not sure what she did to me, but I like it, I love it._

Tony thought to himself that the lyrics couldn't have been more true. He really didn't know what she did to him, but he _did _like it. He _loved it_.

They spent some time dancing to some other songs. Maria really, _really _liked Tony making now a total and complete fool of himself to Sean Kingston's "Me Love". She couldn't help, but laugh out loud. He seemed genuinely happy that she enjoyed the entertainment.

"Want another round?" She shouted.

Tony just stopped dancing and started singing the chorus that started to play right in that moment. He looked so comical with his arms wide open and singing imitating the singer's voice that she just laughed even more and turned on her heel, walking to the bar.

After a while he followed suit.

"Ready for something with a little more kick this time?" was Tony's question to her.

Maria smiled on him playfully.

"If you feel like it."

"Ooooooh, no Maria, you _never _say that to a man. It could end _real_ ugly. Fortunately, I'm not your regular man." He said with a smirk of his own.

"That's better or worse?"

"I guess we'll have to find out. What will you have?"

Maria thought for a second.

"A vodka-martini would be nice."

He waved at the bartender again.

"What will it be, Mr. Stark?"

_Of course he knows who he is, he told the world he's Iron Man, there's no need to pretend. _Maria thought.

"Two vodka-martinis, make one of 'em dirty, will ya?" he said giving him another bill.

"Sure thing, they'll be here right away."

When their drinks arrived, they clanged them like the beers before and kept their eyes locked as they drank them.

"I gotta say, Tony, I was a itsy-bitsy little worried how the night would turn out when I agreed on going with you. I must say I'm pleasantly surprised." Maria confessed.

Tony bowed his head down a bit and pulled the right corner of his lips up in a smirk.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I was a little worried about myself too."

She smacked him in his arm playfully.

"I seriously hope that's not gonna leave a mark."

"Oh common, I'm sure you've had worse."

"I have, but fully suited up."

"Maybe you should've chosen more wisely when you picked your outfit."

_What a great witty little minx she is_ Tony thought.

"I've partied in the suit before. Didn't end well."

Maria let out a laugh.

"Yeah, I heard. Natasha and Fury really weren't choosing their words when they got back from your place."

"That bad, huh." Tony chuckled.

"Well, from what I heard…yeah. But then you trashed it even more when you were building that part accelerator."

Tony smiled remembering that.

"Yeah well…I'm Tony Stark. When I'm on to something, nothing can stop me. Not even destroying my house."

Maria looked at her watch.

"It's getting pretty late, we should probably head back."

"Hmm, I would ask you if you don't wanna crash at the tower but I don't wanna be rude or anything."

She smiled at him.

"No, that would be nice actually, but maybe some other time. I have to go back at the carrier, I have a _lotta_ work to do and day after tomorrow Barton and Romanoff could call with the intel we need."

"Right." Tony nodded. "Well, I'll just walk you where agent Handersson dropped us and wait for him with you."

Maria stepped a little closer to him. She leaned in and whispered to his ear.

"Thank you."

And with that she was already walking away. Tony's heart was beating at a frequency no tech could probably measure. He took a deep breath and let it out and followed her out.

When he got trough the door she was already picking up her jacket from the girl she left it when they got there. Tony picked another hundred bucks from his wallet and gave it to the girl.

She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark."

He grabbed the jacket for Maria and held it so she could slip into it.

"Here, let me." He said.

"Well, Tony Stark, what a gentleman you can be." Maria said.

"Many sides of me that you need to se." Tony smirked.

They walked up the stairs and Tony held the door for her again when they were leaving the upper lobby.

They were walking the street to the landing spot Cole had dropped them before in silence.

None of them seemed to mind. Not that there was nothing to say, they were simply enjoying the little that was left of their night out.

When they got to the place, they turned to face each other and Maria broke the silence.

"Tony, I really want to thank you, I had a nice time. Great more like it."

He smiled at her words. That was what he was hoping for.

"Well, I had a blast as well. Thanks for agreeing and actually going with me."

Suddenly the helicopter appeared on the horizon.

"Guess my ride is here." Maria said.

"Looks like it." He nodded.

Handersson landed and Maria turned to Tony.

"Thanks again. Maybe we could do this again some time."

His heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah, we could." He managed to say.

Maria gave him one last smile and walked to the 'copter. She got in and when she grabbed the door handle, she winked at him.

She closed the door and the chopper started to rise.

Tony looked at it all the way while he could see it. Then he put his hands into his jean pockets, that smile on his face again, and humming "I like it, I love it" he started walking towards Stark Tower.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Tony kept himself busy in one of his labs in the tower, working on something, he's been kinda secretive about. He hasn't told anyone what's it supposed to be. Not even Pepper, his assistant. That disturbed her a little bit, but she quickly forgot about it with having a company to help Tony run.

"Incoming call from SHIELD, sir. Agent Hill is on the line." JARVIS told him.

Tony's lips formed in a small smile.

"Put her on speaker."

"Hey, Maria, what's up?" Tony began.

Before he could say more, she cut him off.

"Listen, Tony. Barton just called, they got the intel we needed, but they've been compromised and fled under heavy fire. They're hiding in a safe house, but they don't know how long they can hold. I'm sending you their coordinates. We need you to fly there and get those thugs of their back and provide cover for them to reach the LZ. Got it?"

Tony stopped working immediately.

"Yeah, got it. Got the coordinates, JARVIS?"

"Yes, sir." The AI replied.

"I'll get them home, Maria, don't worry."

He heard her sigh a little at the other end of the line.

"I sure hope you will, Tony. Watch yourself." And with that she hung up.

Tony was now _really _glad he'd started with the repairs of his Mark VII armor right after the Chitauri invasion.

"The suit has been assembled, sir."

"Great, let's do it."

As Tony was closing in to Hawkeye's and Widow's position, he already saw the hordes of hostiles that were following them. Had he been a few moments late, he wasn't sure there would've been much left of those two.

He took some of them out while airborne, then landed and took care of the others that had taken cover when he was still in the air firing at their comrades. He called through the radio.

"Hawkeye, Widow, how're you holding up?"

Barton's voice came through the comm link.

"Well, we both have been shot, but nothing too serious. Still alive. You got here just in time."

"Yeah, I can see that. C'mon, let's get outta here. The coast is clear. We gotta get to the LZ while it still is. There may be reinforcements on the way."

This time it was Natasha who responded.

"Yeah, we better go." She sounded a little weak.

Clint and Natasha left the safe house, their weapons still raised. Tony was standing right in front of the front door they came out trough. He noticed Natasha's limp on her left leg and then he saw the bullet hole in her thigh. Barton's been shot as well, one bullet came through his right shoulder and the other just scratched his right side. The wounds weren't even bandaged. Tony guessed there was no time with _that_ heat on them.

"Stark, get back in the air and provide cover and be our eyes." Natasha said.

Tony nodded.

"Got it." And flew right up. "You're good to go as far as I can see. But we better be quick."

They were making their way through the landscape to the LZ as fast as they could with Natasha and Clint both injured. Suddenly something appeared on Tony's HUD.

"Guys, GET DOWN!" he yelled.

They did as they were told immediately and then saw why Tony told them to do so.

There was a _tank_ before them maybe half a mile away and it was already firing at Tony in the air. He managed to dodge the first couple of shots, but one of them hit him and he fell down out of the sky. They heard him yell.

"Enough games!" he rocketed back in the air just in time before another rocket hit him and took aim. He fire his anti-tank rocket out of the right forearm of the suit and a moment after the tank burst in flames after a big explosion.

"Let's hurry, guys, we're almost there, common." Natasha and Clint heard he was trying to catch his breath. They got up from the ground surprisingly quick considering their injuries and began to run. The chopper has already landed. When they finally reached it, Tony made sure, there were no more hostiles around and signaled the pilot it was safe to take off.

Barton and Romanoff seated themselves on the floor of the 'copter and began to take care of each other's wounds.

Tony flew beside the chopper until the reached the SHIELD base in Russia where they all boarded a speed jet. They would be home in a couple of hours.

Maria was pacing nervously in her office waiting for Tony, Natasha or Clint to report on their situation. She tried to do some work, but she simply couldn't concentrate. That wasn't like her. She didn't remember the last time some mission she was on or one that she was supervising, that had gotten her nervous like this one.

_Get yourself together, Maria, this is not your first time, head in the game. Common, be Maria Hill, for Christ sake._ She thought. She really didn't know _what_ was going on with her. _Stay calm, just like Phil taught you._ Remembering deceased agent Coulson helped her a bit, he always knew how to react in situations, and always kept his calm.

Then her earpiece buzzed.

"Agent Hill. Maria, come in."

She felt a huge stone fall of her heart. It was Tony.

She touched the earpiece and asked him.

"Do you have them? Are they alright?"

"Yeah, got them. They've both been shot, but it's not too serious. We just boarded the speed jet on the Russian SHIELD base. ETA approximately 5 hours."

Maria let out a big sigh of relief.

"Were you worried, agent Hill?" his tone suggesting he meant worried about _him_.

She rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"I am always worried about my agents in the field."

Tony smiled and chuckled a little.

"Of course. Stark out."

Maria sat into her chair and grabbed the papers that were laying on her desk. She found her concentration was back all of a sudden and she could carry on with her work. The smile on her face stayed there for a few moments and then it was replaced by the small frown she always had while working.

She was Maria Hill again.

Tony, Natasha and Clint were all sitting in the jet, the duo of assassins dozing off. Tony kept an eye on them, just to make sure none of them were in shock or just unconscious from the blood loss, but fortunately they were fine, just getting some shut eye, because they were exhausted due to the fight. Tony himself could use some sleep, but he just couldn't bring himself to it. One reason being that someone needed to keep an eye on Hawkeye and Black Widow because they were wounded and the other reason was, that he somehow couldn't fall asleep on the jet. That surprised him a little, he never had any problems sleeping in one of his private planes. _Probably 'cause I have a bed in those _he thought. He couldn't fall asleep sitting. At least not on a plane.

Couple hours later he came to the duo. Natasha had her head on Clint's shoulder and one hand behind his back. Tony touched Natasha's shoulder and shook her a little.

"Guys, c'mon, were almost home."

Natasha's eyes shot open and her free hand went for the piece on her leg. Clint, feeling her move opened his eyes as well and wanted to go for his knife, but Tony held his hands up and he quickly realized where he is and that they are safe.

"Woa, now agent Romanoff, it's me. Tony." He said with his hands up, because it took her a little longer to acknowledge her surroundings. She put the gun back in the thigh holster and strapped it closed.

Tony smirked.

"Remind me, not to wake you anymore."

Natasha fixed him a glare.

"What?" that was all that left her mouth.

"We're two minutes from home base. Get ready."

Barton just nodded, Natasha mumbled "Okay" and tried to get up from her seat. She hissed from pain and fell back into the seat.

Clint came to her and held out both his hands.

"C'mon, Tasha."

She slipped her palms into his and he gently pulled her up and then he threw her left arm on his shoulders and put his right hand behind her back, his fingers on her side firm, but gentle.

When they landed, Tony got out and waited for Clint and Natasha before the plane's cargo door. They slowly made their way out, Clint still holding her and helping her walk. All three of them started walking to the door that led inside the helicarrier. Tony made out a figure standing just beside the door. A black-haired woman in a SHIELD uniform with her hair in a bun. Maria. He smiled a little, he was really glad to see her. Well, he would've been more glad, had it been different circumstances, but this would have to do.

When they got to her, she looked at them and said.

"Barton, Romanoff, get to medical, get those wounds taken care of. Good work out there, agents."

They just nodded at her and got inside, slowly limping to the medical bay.

Tony stood in front of Maria. He was looking at her, but couldn't read her. _Bet she learnt that from Fury_ he thought.

"You too, Tony. Good work bringing them back home."

He nodded.

"That was my mission. I tend to carry out my missions."

That finally got her to break her poker face and smile a little.

"Yes, I can see that. You look like you could use medical as well." Maria said.

"Yeah. Got shot down by a tank. Nothing I haven't been through before."

Maria chuckled and went fore the door. Tony followed her. They got in and walked together to the nearest intersection. When they reached it, Maria turned to him.

"Get to medical and get checked. We'll let you know when the briefing starts." And with that she started to walk away. Tony hollered after her.

"Plus I had to get back, otherwise I wouldn't have had a chance to ask you out again." She stopped in her tracks and turned over her shoulder. Tony raised his left eyebrow on her and than sent her a wink before continuing on his way to medical. Maria started walking again as well shaking her head to herself a little. _A little full of yourself, ain't you, Tony?_ She thought. But that was simply him.

And she like it.


	5. Chapter 5

With Barton and Romanoff still resting in medical bay, Director Fury decided, that the briefing would be held for at least another 24 hours. Tony was extremely thankful for that, he really wasn't in the mood for it. He took refuge in his and Bruce's lab on the helicarrier and kept himself busy. Bruce was on a vacation somewhere, so he had the whole place for himself. He kinda missed the Jolly Green Giant, but he didn't mind. Sometimes you just need to be alone with your thoughts. For Tony the best way to dig through his thoughts and organize them, was work while listening to music. Just like he was doing right now. He had "TNT" by AC/DC playing while he was listing in some files on the screens. He was so deeply concentrated in the work, he didn't even notice Maria stepping inside.

She just stood there for a couple of moments, then coughed loudly, so he would hear her through the music. Tony's head turned quickly to the source of the sound. When his eyes found Maria, he said "Mute" and stood up from the chair he was sitting in.

"You didn't get checked in the medical, did you?" she asked him.

Tony smirked.

"Well hello to you to, Maria."

She sighed a little.

"Tony, why do you always…" he didn't let her finish.

"I'm fine, just a bruise, really. Nothing to worry about. Don't look at me like that, it's kinda creepy."

"Well, that's what I was going for." She said. "What are you working at?"

Tony quickly closed the documents.

"Ah, just some upgrades on the suit. Thinking about what to add or make better on Mark VIII."

Maria gave him a suspicious look, but didn't push the issue. She came a little closer to him.

"So you wanna ask me out again, huh?" she said with an expression on her face, that he's never seen before on her.

Tony's mouth went dry a bit. He cleared his throat.

"Well…yes, I mean, I uh, had a really great time the last time. And, uh…I thought you did as well, at least that's what you said. So…yeah, I'd like to ask you out again." He gave her a little smile. "And I believe I just did."

_Tony Stark in a situation where his tongue gets knotted. You don't see that everyday_ Maria thought. She also thought it was rather cute. Especially when one considered the fact that he did flap his mouth quite a bit and always came with a sarcastic witty remark on everything. She had to try really hard to keep a straight face, that was a part of her game she was playing with him right now.

She took another step towards him. The look on his face was priceless. _Too bad I don't have a camera on me. This would make a great poster._

"Stop by my office at nine this night. _Don't _be late." Maria told him.

Tony nodded.

"I'll be there."

"Okay." Really proud of herself, Maria lifted one corner of her lips, turned around and walked away, her hips swaying in a seductive rhythm.

When the door closed behind her, Tony let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding. He descended back into the chair and kept staring ahead of him with a kind of weirdly looking smile. He couldn't believe what just happened. Maria Hill _flirted_ with him. Well that was one for the books. He brought the documents back on his screens and continued his previous work mentally telling the time to go faster to nine o'clock.

Maria walked into her office extremely proud of herself. She _really_ played it perfectly. She was sure, that even Natasha would've been proud, if she had seen that. She was surprised Tony didn't need an ambulance after she left. God, the look at his face was….there was no other word than _priceless _that she could think of.

And she was about to give him even more torture this night. When she thought this, a mischievous grin appeared on her face. But even if she tried to deny it, she couldn't kid herself. Whatever he was doing, it was working. She was slowly falling for him. Maria didn't know why, but that thought scared her a little. She hasn't been in a relationship for some time, putting her job on the first place, perhaps of fear. Her last relationship didn't end quite well and she built a wall around her and kept them high ever since.

But then Tony came with his trademark wit and manliness on one side and his gentleness on the other and slowly made her thaw.

Maria didn't know if he was the only man that knew there was a real woman under the ice, or the only one who cared.

One way or the other, she _was _falling for him and she didn't mind.

Tony was standing before Maria's office door and looked at his watch. It was five minutes to nine. Should he wait, or…? _Wait? It's just five minutes, she's not gonna bite your head off, Tony._ Deciding that the thought made sense, he took a deep breath, blew it out and knocked twice.

"Come in." Maria's voice came from the inside.

Tony obeyed and stepped in.

The first thing he noticed was that the lights were dimmed a bit. As he was walking to her table, he also noticed there was just a slightest touch of lip gloss on her lips. She really didn't need make up to look good. The second thing he noticed looking at her was that she wasn't wearing the black shirt she used to wear under her uniform and the zipper was pulled down a little, giving a small sight of her cleavage. Tony didn't know if he _ever_ saw something quite sexy like this.

Maria's deep blue eyes left the papers on her desk and looked at him.

She gave him a little smile.

"You're early."

"Fashionably." He responded without hesitation.

Her smile widened.

"Isn't that the other way around?"

Tony shrugged.

"Who knows? I brought something." And he pulled a bottle from behind his back. "Pinot Noir 2003."

Maria stood up and made her way to the cabinet on her right. She pulled out two red wine glasses and set them on the table.

"Got a cork screw?" she asked.

Tony reached inside his pocket and handed it to her. Maria took it still looking in his eyes, slightly touching his fingers on purpose.

"Shouldn't I be the one doing that?" Tony asked her.

She smiled and handed him the bottle with the cork screw already stuck in the cork. Tony thanked her and grabbed the bottle firmly in his left hand and the cork screw in his right and pulled. The bottle opened with a slight pop and he put the cork aside.

He poured the wine in one glass and handed it to Maria, then he poured it into the other one for himself and set the bottle near the cork screw on his right hand side.

He held his glass for a toast, but said nothing. He was looking into Maria's eyes and asked.

"To what do we toast this time, Ms. Hill?"

"To more nights like this one?" she asked with a smile.

Tony smiled himself.

"Well, it's only getting started, but I don't mind if we do."

And with that they clanged their glasses together and both took a sip of the wine, their eyes never breaking contact. When they put the glasses down, Maria slightly licked her lips.

"Hmm, it's really good. Where did you get it if you don't mind me asking?"

He chuckled.

"I smuggled a couple bottles from the tower here under Fury's nose."

She let out a little laugh.

"I seriously doubt he doesn't know."

"That doesn't disturb me. As long as I don't find out he's drinking my stash, I couldn't care less."

They kept drinking and talking about various subjects, like Maria's training under Coulson and funny memories they had from their earlier days. Maria thought she wouldn't stop laughing when he told her he gave the award he won the night before the day he was kidnapped to the mascot guy in Caesar's Palace.

"I really liked your interview with the weapons committee in DC. I found it quite humorous."

"Well, thank you. Are you a fan of Senator Stern like me?" Tony joked.

Maria snorted.

"Yeah, little prick; he would like to have his private army of Iron Men. I would like to see what he would use it for."

"You and me both." He said.

She looked him in the eye, he could feel those deep see blue eyes penetrating his soul.

"Tell me something, Tony. Why aren't you this kinda enjoyable company all the time?"

"That's simple, Maria." He said, took another sip of the wine and filled their glasses again. "Then it wouldn't be special, would it?"

She let out a small laugh and rolled her eyes a bit.

"You enjoy people losing their cool around you?"

"I can't help it, I just find it amusing." He smirked.

Maria took a small sip as well and leaned a little closer to him.

"What else do you find…_amusing_?" she almost purred.

"Well, for instance. The way you can change your entire act in a split second from Commander Hill to the Maria Hill you are right now." He too leaned closer to her.

"What else?" she whispered.

"Your art of seduction." Came his answer and she suddenly felt his palms on her cheeks, she couldn't even react and he brought her face close to his and kissed her.

For a brief moment there was no reaction from her and Tony was about to regret his actions, when suddenly she began to kiss him back passionately. After a while they stopped, their eyes still closed and they were panting heavily like they've been running for at least two hours.

Tony gave her another soft kiss on the lips and rested his forehead on hers. She opened her eyes and met his. None of them said a word, there was comfortable silence between them, they were just staring into each other's eyes and smiling. Maria was the first to speak.

"I think I'm falling for you." She said in a voice just a little above a whisper.

"You think?"

She shook her head a bit.

"No. I _know_. I'm falling for you."

Tony's smile grew wider at her words.

"Well, that's good. Because I'm falling for you too. Hell, I already did."

"Careful there, Iron Man, you don't want to fall from that kind of height."

"I said I already did. And you said it yourself, I'm Iron Man. That kinda fall can't hurt me."

She laughed.

"God, you're so pretty."

Tony reached for the pin in her hair that held it in the bun. He pulled it out and her black hair fell down on her shoulders a little longer than Natasha's. Then he put one fringe behind her ear.

"Especially now."

Maria gave him a bright smile.

"My my, If somebody had told me a week ago, I would see you like this, I would've laughed in his face."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She said.

"I meant it that way."

Maria gave Tony another kiss and then said.

"Not that I mean to kick you out, but it's pretty late and Fury wants to debrief you, Clint and Natasha tomorrow at ten o'clock sharp, so you better go."

Tony pretended to look hurt.

"If you say so, _commander_." And smirked.

She smacked him in his arm.

"Yes I say so, _Mr. Stark_." She said and then she kissed him again. Tony couldn't get enough of her lips on his.

Maria broke the kiss after a while and put her index finger on his lips when he wanted more.

"Tony, you really should go."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed.

He got up from the chair and Maria did the same.

"Let's uh, let's just keep this between us, at least for some time." She said.

"Yeah, okay." Tony said, gave her one last quick kiss on the lips and turned to leave.

When he grabbed the door knob, she spoke again.

"Good night, Tony."

He turned and smiled at her.

"You bet. Good night to you too, Maria."

He waved his hand in a goodbye, stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Outside her office he touched his lips with his hand and smiled to himself. This night certainly couldn't have gone better. With that thought in his head, he started walking towards his bunk.

When Maria opened the door to her bedroom and closed it behind her, she kicked her boots off and started stripping of her uniform immediately. She threw it on the floor beside her bed and went to the bathroom. She unclasped her bra and let it fall to the ground. She let her panties slide of her smooth legs and stepped into the shower. She turned the water on and enjoyed its warm touch on her skin. That was her everyday ritual before sleep. When she was done, she turned the water off, stepped out of the shower and grabbed the towel. She wiped herself dry and did the same to her hair in front of the mirror. Then she wrapped the towel around her body and came out of the bathroom. She made her way to her bed, reached under her pillow and she was holding her pajama shorts and tank top. She put them on the bed. She dropped the towel and completely naked walked to her wardrobe. Maria opened the second drawer from the top and pulled out her body butter. She opened it and rubbed it on herself everywhere she could manage, paying special attention to her legs. When she was done, she closed the body butter and put where she got it from. She slipped into the shorts and tank top and slipped under her blanket.

She closed her eyes and licked her lips. She could still feel the touch of Tony's lips on them.

Maria rolled on her side and fell asleep almost in an instant.

Tony reached his bunk and opened the door. Maria didn't seem to leave his mind. Well, he wasn't gonna complain.

He kicked his cloths all around the room and then he took a shower. While he was standing there with the water running down his body, he whistled to himself.

He got out, dried himself and put on a pair of sleeping sweatpants, fell on his bed face first and with Maria still on his mind fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Tony got out of bed at eight o'clock in the morning, which was really unusual for him. He got dressed and made his way to his lab. He helped himself to some coffee and with the mug in his hand made his way to one of the tables.

He set the mug down and activated the computer. He began rifling through some files again. A frown slowly made its way to his face as he continued reading. He sipped a little of the coffee and kept turning the pages.

By the time, Tony got out of bed, Maria has already been up for two hours. She was used to getting up early. Her job required it. She was already in her office, sipping a cup of coffee and reading Tony's report. There was really _nothing_ that could pass for a clue as to where those weapons are coming from. Well, with Barton and Romanoff back with the intel they needed, they were going to find out soon enough. She looked at her watch. It was already past eight. Maria kept her gaze on the watch. _Have I been reading this for almost two hours?_ She wondered what kept her occupied for such a long period of time. It certainly wasn't the report she was holding in her hand. Many things were on her mind and she kind of lost track of time. _Yeah, that would be it_ she told herself.

She rose to her feet and left her office. She was on her way to medical bay to see if Clint and Natasha were in shape to be debriefed. As she was walking the halls of the helicarrier, her thoughts wandered to last night. She couldn't help but smile. She didn't remember the last time she felt that _great_. She shook her head a little. _Common, Maria, you're not in high school anymore, you got a job to do. Focus._

She finally arrived to medical and stepped in. They were in condition for the briefing alright.

They were both sitting on their beds, Natasha taking care of the wound on her thigh (Maria thought she didn't let the nurse take care of it) and Clint was bouncing a tennis ball of the floor and the wall opposite him and back into his palm.

When they saw her, they acknowledged her presence by simply saying "Commander Hill" and stopped doing what they were doing.

Maria looked at them and smiled a little. They really were the best.

"Just came to let you know that the briefing will be at ten o'clock."

They both nodded. Clint spoke.

"Alright, we'll be there."

"Good. Carry on."

And with that Maria left the medical bay.

As she was in the hallways again, she decided to pay Tony a visit. She thought to look into the lab first. She made her way there and saw that she was right. He was there reading some files on the computer again. Maria didn't like the frown on his face. She had a feeling something was wrong. He looked…_upset_.

She stepped in and was greeted by the smell of coffee and Tony's smile, when he looked up to see who came to see him.

"Hey there, Maria." He greeted her.

"Hello, Tony." She looked at the screen. "Working again?"

When she asked that, he wanted to shut it down like he did the last time, but she stopped him.

"Don't. What is it? You seem really upset about this."

She leaned over his shoulder to read the documents.

Her eyes were just quickly passing through what was written there, but she caught a name.

Maya Hansen.

"Why are you reading this? Did you know her?" Maria asked.

Tony sighed.

"Yes, we went to MIT together."

She looked at him.

"What are you so upset about? I don't see anything here that would…"

Instead of an answer, Tony brought the next page to the screen.

"Read." Was all he said.

Maria's blue eyes began running through the words again. After a while she understood what got Tony so worried. There was something about a project she was working on, called "Extremis", but that wasn't what caught hers or Tony's attention. It was the name of the person she was working on it with.

Aldrich Killian.

"She's working with Killian? Not exactly one of the cleanest businessmen I know."

Tony sighed and nodded.

"Either she doesn't know who she's dealing with, or she's changed _a lot_ since I last saw her."

Maria shifted her gaze on him.

"And when was that?"

A sad smile appeared on his face.

"A long time ago." He said.

"Wanna talk to her?" came Maria's question.

He shook his head no.

"I'd like to take a look at the research first."

After a moment of silence Maria asked.

"And how do you plan to do that? I doubt they publish it somewhere in _The Times_, or that either of them would hand you their password with a smile on their face."

Tony closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Of course she was right. And _of course_ he _knew_ that. He just really wanted to know what Killian was up to. Knowing him, it couldn't be anything good. He opened his eyes and grabbed the coffee mug from the table. He finished the remaining coffee that was in it and put it down again. Thoughts were running through his mind with the speed of light. _What got you to change so much, Maya?_ He thought and couldn't find the answer. It's been a while since he last saw her. Ten years to be exact. She disappeared from his life then and he hasn't heard from her ever since.

He felt Maria's hands on his shoulders. Whatever she was doing, it was working. He felt his mind to slowly calm down and his body less tense.

"Where did you learn this?"

His eyes were closed, but he could swear, that she was smiling.

"Nowhere, really. It's a talent, I guess."

Tony opened his eyes and turned with the chair to face her. There was a boyish grin on his face. _This is the Tony Stark I know_ Maria thought.

"You're a woman of many talents, ain't you, Maria Hill." He rose from the chair, grabbed her by her sides and pulled her to him. She gave a little gasp of surprise, but didn't do anything to stop him and Tony knew she _could've_, had she wanted to.

She was staring at him with those eyes and he could easily lose himself in them. They were blue and deep like the ocean.

Maria's heart was bouncing in her chest. With Tony's hands on her waist and the little space between their faces, it was no wonder. Suddenly she felt him planting kisses on her neck. She moaned a little and tilted her head to the side, so he could have easy access. Her fingers were tugging at his hair and as she felt his breath on his ear. His hands made their way down to her thighs, grabbed them and pulled her up. Maria wrapped her legs around his waist and Tony went around the corner, where they couldn't be seen. He pushed Maria's back into the wall and sucked on her earlobe gently. Now she was _really _hot. Every fiber of her being wanted him.

When Tony stopped, she used the small window he gave her, and kissed him immediately. She was kissing him hungrily that it hurt a little, biting on his lower lip on occasion. Tony liked it. Oh, he liked it a lot. She could get really wild. She was kissing him as if she wanted to suck his soul out of him.

When she finally broke the kiss, he kissed her neck again and slowly made his way down to her chest. He was about to pull the zipper of her suit down with his teeth, but then something happened. Something that made them both stop.

Maria's alarm on her wrist watch went off.

For a moment they remained exactly like they were. Tony's lips on her collar bone. He groaned a little.

"You gotta be kidding me." With that he put her down carefully. "It can't be ten already."

Maria fixed her hair and looked at him.

"It's not. But I gotta go to the shooting range for a while. Scare some new guys a bit." She smiled.

Tony smiled back at her.

"Well, then give 'em hell for interrupting our _session_."

Maria laughed a little. She kissed him one more time before leaving.

"See you in an hour." She turned over her shoulder and sent him a wink. Tony went back to sit in his chair, but this time he didn't look at the documents. He simply sat down, opened a new project and started working on the Mark VIII armor.

On his way to the briefing room Tony couldn't think of anything else, but what happened between him and Maria an hour ago. _Man, she's wild._ He thought. With a grin on his face he continued walking towards his destination.

When he arrived to the briefing room and stepped in, Director Fury was already there and so were Maria, Natasha and Clint.

Director Fury turned his gaze to him.

"Stark. Nice of you to join us on time for once." He pointed at the chair and Tony took a seat in it.

"Good to see you too, Nick. Sleep well?"

Tony thought it took all of Fury's strength not to roll his eye. Behind him Maria shook her head slightly. That was her way of telling him to drop the humor.

Fury spoke again.

"We all know why we're here. Barton, Romanoff, talk."

Clint scratched behind his left ear and Natasha began to speak instead of him. They usually did it like this after their missions together. She was better at speaking to their supervisors.

"When we arrived in St. Petersburg, we got wind of the information we needed almost immediately. We heard it had something to do with Vasily Eremenko. So we went to pay him a visit to ask him a couple of questions." She shifted in her chair a bit and continued.

"We found him hiding in his layer guarded by hordes of his men. We managed to make our way in and interrogated him. He was playing tough first, but then he broke and gave us all the intel we needed. He said he was just a middle man, that the weapons were from a guy named Aldrich Killian."

Tony and Maria exchanged a look. This time it was Clint who spoke.

"But he also said Killian was just someone's puppet, but he didn't know whose."

Fury thought for a moment. Then he spoke.

"That's not vitally important right now. We've got the source of the weapons, that's what we wanted, we should focus on that. If there's someone behind Killian, he won't like the weapons gone and could poke his head out. It's our best right now."

Tony had to admit, that it made sense. It _was_ their best bet. It was the _only_ thing they could do right now. Fury looked at his two agents.

"Did you get from him where is the weapon facility?"

Natasha nodded.

"It's underground in Tajikistan. The entrance is in the old mines there. We've got the coordinates."

"Good work, agents. Both of you." He looked at Tony. "Stark, you're going in. Since Barton and Romanoff are not a hundred percent yet and Rogers is in Austria hunting HYDRA agents, I'm sending Hill with you. You go in, place the charges inside, blow the place to the orbit and come back in one piece, got it?"

Tony nodded his head.

"Crystal clear, director."

"Good. You're leaving in two hours. Get your suit together if needs some repair works. This briefing is over."

Fury got up from his chair and walked out probably to let the council know about their next mission. Clint and Natasha didn't say a word and made their way out of the room as well. When they were out of sight, Maria came to Tony and took a seat next to him.

"Well, this is gonna be fun." She said. "I imagined a better first date."

Tony chuckled.

"Same here." He put his hand on Maria's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We'll be fine. And when we come back, we're taking a week of absence at minimum."

Maria smiled. "That would be nice." She said looking in his eyes.

He leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear.

"You know, we really should finish what we started earlier."

That got Maria's smile to grow wider.

"As much as I would like to, we can't. We have to get ready. Don't you have some repairs to get done on your suit?"

Tony mumbled in her neck.

"Well, aren't you a killjoy."

She looked at him playfully.

"I have to torture you a little."

Tony raised his left eye brow at her.

"Kinky now are you?"

Maria got up from the chair and stood behind Tony's and whispered in his ear.

"You have _no idea_."

Tony felt the tip of her tongue touch his earlobe and he shivered slightly.

She walked around the chair and stood in front of him again. She looked seductive as all hell.

"I'm turning you in for torture." He said.

A mischievous grin took its place on Maria's face.

"Go work on your suit. See you in the hanger in two hours."

She turned on her heel and walked out of the room. When she reached the door, she turned around and gave Tony a sweet smile. After that she left and Tony just sat there completely petrified, unable to move.

_Damn, she's good_ he thought. Tony wondered if it was Natasha who taught her this, or if it was just her pure talent. One way or the other, she had her feminine weapons and she knew _exactly _how to use them.

Tony finally managed to get up from the chair and go to his lab. The suit wasn't really damaged; it only had some minor scrapes from the tank fight. When he started working on it, it went really smoothly. It took only an hour and fifteen minutes. With the half an hour he still on his hands he didn't know what to do. He knew going to see Maria wouldn't be any good, she was probably down at the shooting range or something and thirty minutes wasn't enough time for him to "_go see her". _So he took a shower instead, got dressed and made his way to the hanger. He still had fifteen minutes, but that wasn't enough to do anything before he went there, so he just went right away.

While making his way to his destination various things crept through his mind. One of them was that he never saw Maria in the field before. But he would bet his entire fortune that she kicked ass.

_At least one thing to look forward to._ He thought to himself and kept going to the hanger.


	7. Chapter 7

Maria was sitting on the quinjet's floor loading and checking her trusted Glock. There was also a duffle bag on her right side with some medical supplies, an MP5 SMG and the explosives they were going to blow up the weapons facility with. The quinjet's rotors were already started. She quickly glanced at her watch. Tony had less than ten minutes to get there. She clipped the magazine in the Glock, chambered a round and put the safety on.

That's when Tony came to the quinjet.

"Hey." He greeted.

Maria smiled. She put the gun in the holster on her right thigh.

"Hey yourself."

He climbed into the quinjet.

"Ready, Maria?"

She gave him a funny look.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

Tony shrugged.

"It's been a while since your last time in field."

Maria smiled.

"Don't worry, Tony. I still got it."

He winked at her.

"Let's go then, shall we?"

Maria gave the pilot the signal and they left.

As their journey was passing, Maria and Tony were killing the time talking and after a couple of moments they started making out.

After a while Maria said to Tony.

"We shouldn't be doing this."

The boyish grin was on his face again.

"And why's that, agent Hill? Worried 'bout my concentration?"

She looked at him with a grin similar to his.

"That's exactly what I'm worried about. You are reckless and can barely follow orders as it is, Mr. Stark."

Tony had to laugh at that. He really loved her wit. It almost matched his own. He looked at her lovingly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Maria asked.

"Like what?"

She didn't speak for a second.

"I don't know, it was like…" she couldn't finish the sentence. She wasn't really sure herself. "But I liked it."

The smile was back on his face.

"I thought it freaked you out."

Maria kissed him on the lips and put a hand on his left cheek.

"You have to try harder to be able to do that."

"Is that a challenge, Maria?"

They both erupted into laughter.

"We're almost there." The pilot's voice brought them back to reality.

A serious look was on Maria's face immediately.

"Alright, game time."

Tony went to the booth with his suit and started getting into it. Maria checked her weapons again and crouched down to the duffel bag. She opened it and put the SMG's belt on her shoulder and behind her neck, the MP5 hanging by her right side.

"Damn, now _that's_ hot." Tony said.

She just smiled and shook her head. Tony always kept that humor of his.

They lowered their altitude and the pilot opened the cargo doors and flashed the green light. The mask of Tony's suit slammed closed, the eyes' lights looking at Maria. He came to her and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around him as well and like this, Tony jumped out of the quinjet. They freefell a couple of meters, then he began to slow the fall down.

They touched down and let go of each other.

"Had fun?" Tony asked her.

"Yeah, let's get to work."

"Alright, I'll go and call you when the coast is clear."

Maria gave him a hard look. The suit's mask opened.

"Don't even start to argue, Maria. I'm the one with the armor. We're close, it'll be just a sec. You won't miss anything, I promise."

She sighed.

"Fine. Go, I'll wait here."

Tony gave her a little smile, the mask of his suit closed again and with that he launched into the air towards the location they had the coordinates for.

Maria kept looking around her with the forefinger of her right hand on the trigger of the SMG.

True to his word, Tony was back in no time. He landed right next to her.

"Okay, it's clear, let's roll."

Maria started running to the old mines with Tony above her providing cover. When they arrived to the supposed entrance, Tony touched down again and walked with her.

Maria strapped the MP5 tightly so it wouldn't interfere with her movement and raised the Glock and her flashlight. They kept walking straight down the mine corridor slowly and carefully watching their step. They arrived to a big metal door that was really out of place soon enough. Tony looked at the door, then at Maria.

"Do you have some sort of hacking device for the lock, or do we do this the old school way and blow it up?"

Instead of an answer to his question she grabbed a device that looked like a Blackberry of her left thigh. She inserted it into the electromagnetic lock and pressed some buttons. It began working on finding the right combination immediately.

"SHIELD is not a bunch of amateurs, Tony." Maria said with a slight grin. "Common, common." She hurried the device.

After a couple of moments all the digits were in place and the door opened silently.

Maria put the device back in the thigh holster and raised her gun again.

Tony walked in first. There was nobody in sight and he signaled Maria that she can come in.

He turned to face her.

"Got the charges?"

"Yeah, right here." She said pointing at a small pack on her belt.

"Good, let's find the right place for them and get outta here."

Maria looked at him.

"It would be better if we split up. I'll give you some of the charges and meet you here in twenty."

The mask opened again.

"Maria, no. I'm not letting you go in there just like that." He protested.

She gave him that look again.

"I'm not going _just like that_, I'm trained for this. This is what I do, it's my job."

"Yeah, but…"

"Tony, please." She cut him off. "It will be faster. I'll be fine, don't worry."

He knew there was no chance of her changing her mind.

"Okay, fine. But if anything happens, forget about the mission, call for me and make a run for it."

"Is it the only way you're gonna agree to this?" she asked.

Tony nodded. "The only way, yeah."

"Alright. Meet you here in twenty." Maria said giving him some of the charges.

Tony grabbed her waist, pulled her to him and kissed her.

"You better." He said.

With that he shut the mask closed and they started walking their separate ways.

TONY

Tony was still a little pissed at himself for agreeing to separate from Maria, but he knew there was simply no way he could have talked her out of it. So he kept walking the halls looking for the place they stored the weapons to place the explosives there. There weren't many guards in his way and the little there was he took out as silently as he could. One of them almost set of the alarm, but Tony managed to take him down with one of his repulsors. Not the most quiet way, but he had no choice and there was no response so far. He kept walking deeper into the complex facility.

MARIA

Maria walked the concrete hallways carefully with her gun aimed in front of her. She knew that separating wasn't really the smartest idea, but it was faster and more efficient than tagging along. Her thoughts were interrupted by some sounds of movement around the corner. She tightened her grip on the Glock and kept walking towards the sounds. She arrived at the corner, pushed herself to the wall and took a careful look. Just as she expected, there was a guard patrolling. He had his back turned to her, so Maria decided it would be best to act right then in that moment. She snuck up behind him and whipped him on the back of his head with the butt of her gun. He fell to the ground with a thud. Maria grabbed his wrists and dragged him around the corner where she came from. She knew she had to act quickly. He would gain consciousness in about thirty minutes.

Then she heard some noise coming from somewhere in front of her. She ran to the corner and pushed her back to the wall again.

She took a look and saw exactly what she was looking for.

The corridor ended into a rather large room with the stash of weapons in it. There were many guards on the ground and on the upper floor as well. She quietly made her way to the nearest crate and crouched behind it.

NORMAL POV

Maria looked up to the upper floor and saw there were quite a few guards as well. She was thinking what would be the best way of doing this and then she saw Tony come to the balcony taking the guards out.

His voice echoed in her ear piece.

"I got them occupied, Maria, GO!"

She began to run, setting up the explosives on the way. She set them on places where it seemed they would do the most damage. Fortunately she had enough of them even without those she'd given to Tony earlier. She gave a quick look up and saw him still fighting the guards. She had a couple of charges left to place, when they spotted her and opened fire at her.

She didn't hesitate and threw herself behind a row of the weapon crates.

"You okay, Maria?" she heard Tony shout.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but they got me pinned down here. I could really need some help. Like right now."

She heard him fly of the balcony, taking them out one by one. That's when more of them started swarming out of the corridors. One of them aimed an RPG on Tony. He didn't notice being occupied with the hordes of them.

"TONY, LOOK OUT!" Maria shouted with all the strength of her lungs.

With her warning he managed to barely dodge the fired rocket. It flew past him right into the ceiling. The whole room shook. Tony's eyes went wide behind his mask. A large piece of the ceiling was falling right at Maria and she had nowhere to run, she was trapped by them. Tony put his right hand up and fired at it hoping to blow it into smaller pieces, so it wouldn't kill her or hurt her much. She immediately shielded her head with her hands and crouched down. Tony kept firing at their attackers and dodging their fire.

When he finally got them all, he landed on the ground.

"C'mon, Maria, let's get outta here, there might be more coming."

No answer. That's _never_ a good sign. Tony walked to the crate she was hiding behind. He walked around it and…

"SHIT. MARIA!"

She was laying on her stomach with blood on her head. One of the concrete pieces must've hit her. She was unconscious.

Tony knelt on one knee and lifted her of the ground carefully.

_I'll get you out of this, Maria, I swear_

He flew through the corridors and out of the facility with some remaining guards on his tail. When he got out of there, he flew even further and then pressed the detonator he grabbed from Maria when he found her.

There was a distant explosion and some moments later, fire blew out of the old mine entrance.

Tony landed carefully with Maria in his arms.

"Stark here, do you copy?" he asked their pilot through the radio.

"Loud and clear. Is it done?"

"Yes. Come get us, agent Hill needs medical attention. She's unconscious." Tony said with desperation in his voice.

"Roger that, I'm on my way, ETA 10 minutes."

Tony didn't answer him. The mask opened again, his eyes full of worry.

"Maria, do you hear me? Common, babe, open your eyes, _please_." He spoke to her gently.

No response.

JARVIS had already assured him that her vitals are good, that she's alive, but he was still desperate.

Then he spotted the quinjet up in the sky. He flew up to it, the pilot opened the door and Tony shouted.

"Get us to the base as fast as you can!"

The pilot nodded, closed the cargo door and did as Tony said.

Tony walked to the bench on one side of the jet and gently put Maria on it, laying on her back.

He quickly got out of the suit and walked back to her. Her left hand jerked slightly. She was regaining consciousness.

Tony knelt down to her and grabbed her hand.

"Maria. Maria, do you hear me?"

"Yeah." He could barely hear her response.

He let out a big sight of relief.

"Good, try not to move much, you've suffered a nasty blow to the head. You got a concussion, I guess."

"Great. Just what I needed." She whispered.

Tony smiled a bit. Maria slowly opened her eyes and looked at him. She squeezed his hand with all the strength she had left.

"We'll be home soon; they'll take care of you."

"Tony…" she began but he didn't let her finish.

"Shhhh. It's fine, babe. Everything's gonna be okay."

The look in her eyes said it all.

_Thank you._

Maria wanted to say it out loud, but then she drifted out of consciousness again.


	8. Chapter 8

When Maria had been admitted to medical bay, taken care of and put into a bed, Tony was immediately there, refusing to leave. He just wanted to be there when she woke up. He even sent the nurses away, when they tried to treat him.

"It's just a couple of bruises, get off me, I'm fine." He said.

They left him alone with her. Tony sighed and grabbed a chair, that he placed beside her bed. He seated himself in the chair and took Maria's hand in both of his. He was just sitting there, looking at her beautiful face. She was really beautiful and she looked like she was just sleeping.

Laying on her back, her hands beside her body, her face all peaceful, the raven hair usually in a bun on the back of her head was now framing it.

The only thing ruining the illusion was the bandage around her head. It didn't cover her head, it was just wrapped around it, but it looked kind of disturbing to Tony.

The whole time he spent sitting by her side, he hasn't seen anyone come visit her.

As he was dozing off in the chair, somebody touched his arm lightly. He opened his eyes and slowly took in his surroundings. He blinked a couple times and looked at the person that woke him up.

"Mr. Stark." She simply said to greet him.

It was Sharon Carter. The agent who was watching over Rogers when he was in the SHIELD facility he escaped from after being thawed from the ice.

"Hey, Agent Carter." He yawned.

"How is she?"

Tony looked at her with his tired eyes.

"Still unconscious. Couldn't Fury have come and see for himself, or is it a part of his image to always send someone else?" he asked a little harshly.

Sharon looked a little uncomfortable at that.

"I don't know, Mr. Stark. I will report her status to Director Fury, but I didn't come to see her on orders. I wanted to see her."

Tony looked a little surprised.

"You close?"

She gave a little smile.

"I wouldn't call it _close_, but she helped me when I needed it back in the day."

He just nodded.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone with her."

"Thanks for coming. I'll let her know you were here when she wakes up." Tony said.

Sharon turned back to him in the middle of her way out of medical.

"You're a nice couple, you know that?"

Tony looked down and saw Maria's hand still between his palms. He turned to Sharon.

"I'd appreciate if you kept that to yourself."

She nodded.

"Of course. See you around."

"Bye." Tony mumbled.

He seated himself comfortably in the chair again and fell asleep in an instant.

Pain. That was all Maria felt when she woke up. It took her a while to get everything in her head straight. But now she remembered the large piece of concrete ceiling falling at her and Tony shattering it into smaller pieces with his repulsor.

She slowly opened her eyes.

The hospital room she was in swam before her. She closed her eyes again and began breathing deeply and counting in her mind slowly. When she reached ten, she slowly opened her eyes again.

It was a bit better, but everything around her still slid into focus every now and then.

She felt warmth on her left hand. She looked to her left and saw Tony dozing off in a chair beside her bed, holding her hand in his. She had to smile at that.

_He must've been here all the time._ She thought and the thought made her really happy.

Then Tony snored a little and opened his eyes as well.

When he saw Maria's baby blues looking back at him, he was awake in an instant.

"Hey there, sleepy head." He said.

A lazy smile appeared on her face.

"Hey." She whispered.

Tony brought her hand he was still holding to his lips and kissed it.

"You had me afraid for a while."

"How long was I out?"

Tony looked at his watch.

"Uuuuuh…the whole night and…well, for a day."

She dropped her head back at the pillow and closed her eyes again.

Her eyes opened when he spoke again.

"Sharon was here to see you while you were still out."

Maria smiled. Sharon Carter. They weren't exactly friends, but Maria helped her a bit, when Sharon was still a trainee.

"Sweet kid." She said in a kind of stronger voice now.

Silence fell between them. Tony had his gaze fixed on Maria and she was looking into the ceiling, but after a while she felt his eyes on her and turned to look at him.

"Maria, I know we've already reached that…" he stopped for a moment looking for the most fitting word. "_part_ of our relationship, but neither of us has said it out loud."

She held her breath for a short moment.

He squeezed her hand gently.

"I love you." He finished.

Maria's lips formed a small smile.

"Love you too, Tony."

He leaned over her and kissed her lips really gently as if afraid he would hurt her.

"I wanna get outta here." Maria whined.

Tony brushed a strand of her black hair behind her ear gently.

"That's gonna take a few days I guess, sweetheart."

She tried to sit up, but her head began to swim again and she fell back on the bed.

"Whoa, what do you think you're doing?" Tony asked.

She glared at him.

"Just wanted to sit up." Her eyes softened and she put her hands up to him. "Would you give me a hand?"

He smiled and gently took her hands into his.

"Alright, on three." He said.

Maria just nodded.

"One, two, three." Tony counted and on _three_ he gently pulled her up. Then he put the big pillow behind her back so she could sit back comfortably.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Maria shook her head.

"I meant for everything."

Tony sighed a little and sat in the chair again.

"Yeah. I didn't do a very good job though."

She looked at him with those bright blue eyes.

"If you hadn't done it, I would've died."

He looked a little disturbed.

"Yes, but perhaps I could've flied and pushed it out of the way or…"

Maria put a hand on his cheek and he stopped talking.

"Tony. You. Saved. My life. Don't second guess now what you could've done. There was no guarantee you would have made it in time. So your decision was good. You did what you could. And you did what you had to do."

He opened his mouth to protest. Maria put her forefinger on his lips.

"Don't. You saved my life. I don't want to hear any protests."

A small smile appeared on Tony's face.

He kissed her on the lips and then slowly deepened the kiss. After a short while Maria broke it.

"I'm feeling a bit sleepy. I think I'm gonna doze off."

Tony nodded with a smile.

"You do that. I'll come to see you first thing in the morning."

"Alright." That was all she said before falling asleep again.

Tony stroked her cheek gently and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Maria."

He turned around and walked out of the medical bay. As soon as the door closed behind his back, he felt the exhaustion. He yawned and went to his bunk. He barely met someone in the hallways on his way there. He was really exhausted. He practically had to force his eyes to stay open.

Tony finally got to his room and opened the door. Hi didn't undress, he didn't even remove his shoes, he just fell on the bed and fell asleep right after hitting it.

The next morning Tony woke up feeling much better than last night. He sat up on his bed and looked at his Stark phone what time it was. It was nine. He yawned, got up from the bed and headed for the shower.

When the water hit his body, he was slowly beginning to fully wake up. He brushed his teeth, got dressed in clean clothes and got out of his room.

First he stopped at his lab to make some coffee for Maria. He knew she would want some. When it was done, he grabbed it and with the steaming mug in his hand he continued his way to medical.

He got there and opened the door.

Maria was sitting on her bed reading a book. When she heard him coming, she looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Tony. You brought coffee, I can't even thank you enough." She said with a bright smile and put the book on the nightstand.

He handed her the mug and she immediately took a sip. She closed her eyes and hummed.

She put the mug down, Tony grabbed a chair, kissed her and sat next to her.

"I'm gonna go see Fury about the week of absence." Tony said.

Maria smiled.

"Yeah, I would like that."

Tony took her hand into his. They just sat there with comfortable silence between them. They simply held hands with Tony's thumb stroking the back of Maria's hand.

After a while Maria broke the silence.

"Could you help me get into the shower?"

Tony got up from the chair.

"Yeah, sure, c'mon."

He helped her get up from the bed and then put one hand under her knees, the other hand behind her back and lifted her off the ground.

She gave a yelp of surprise.

"Tony! I meant you walk with me."

He smiled at her.

"Well, I'm carrying you. Is that much of a problem?"

Maria just smiled and laughed. Tony really loved the sound of her laugh.

He gently put her down on her feet before the bathroom door.

"Need any help in there?"

She looked at him with a grin on her face.

"Really smooth. No, thanks, I'll be fine."

Tony couldn't help and smiled at her reaction.

"Okay. I'll be here. If you need anything, just holler."

Maria nodded her head and got inside the bathroom. Luckily, there was also a tub, so she didn't have to stand and risk getting dizzy.

She slowly stripped from the hospital pajamas they'd given her. She grabbed the edge of the tub tightly. Slowly she put one leg inside, then the other. Once inside, she positioned herself and crouched holding on to both sides of the tub. Then she carefully lowered herself until she was seated.

"Okay, that was easy." She said out loud.

Maria grabbed the shower head and turned the water on. She set the temperature to her liking and started pouring the water on her back. It felt incredibly good. She grabbed the bar of soap and rubbed it on her. Then she washed it down and kept the water flowing on her back again. It was really refreshing. She felt like she was being reborn.

She turned the water off and put the shower head back to its place. She grabbed the sides of he tub again and pushed herself up with all her strength. When she was finally standing, the room swam a bit before her eyes, but it quickly came back to normal. She put one leg out, then slowly the other one and walked to the hangers where her towel was.

Maria grabbed it and dried herself. When she was done, she put her clothes back on and came out.

Tony looked at her.

"Well, you're nifty."

Maria smiled.

"What can I say? It's just the way I am."

Tony held her hand and together they made their way to her bed. When they arrived, Maria sat on it and then put her legs up.

"You get some more rest and I'm gonna have a word with Fury." Tony said.

She nodded.

"Okay. See you when you get back to tell me how it went."

"I'll be right back, sunshine."

They kissed and Tony left the room to go talk to the director.

Tony finally arrived to the door marked SHIELD DIRECTOR GEN. NICHOLAS FURY. He took a deep breath and knocked twice.

"Come in." Fury's voice came from the inside.

Tony stepped in the office and walked straight to Fury's desk.

"Stark." He acknowledged Tony's presence.

"Director Fury. I'm here to ask you a small favor." He started.

Fury looked at him.

"What is it?"

Tony took a seat in the chair opposite director's across the table.

"Well, I'd like to ask you for a week of absence for me and agent Hill. If it's possible."

Fury thought for a moment. Then he spoke.

"A week of absence you say. Well, after a mission like this it's understandable. Alright, see you in a week then."

Tony stood up.

"Thanks."

With that having been said, Tony walked out of the director's office.

He was headed to Maria's room to grab her some clothes. He got there, opened the door and got to her wardrobe. He opened some of the drawers and grabbed a pair of jeans and a simple white shirt. He was glad she had underwear with her in the hospital wing. That could've been a bit awkward.

He went back to Maria. As he was close to the medical bay, he saw Sharon leaving. She just waved at him and walked away. Tony got to the door and opened it.

Maria was sitting in her bed and she was just about to grab her book again when she saw him walk in.

"Hey, how'd it go?"

"Good. Throw these on." Tony answered and put the clothes on her bed.

She smiled and climbed out of the bed. When she was dressed, she turned to Tony.

"Where are we going?"

"Stark Tower. Let's go."

Maria signed some papers for the nurses on their way out and soon after they were in a chopper on the way to Stark Tower.

They landed on the roof, Tony opened the door, hoped out and helped Maria out. The pilot flew the helicopter back to the helicarrier and they were alone on the roof.

Tony took Maria's hand.

"Common. Let's get you settled in."

They walked inside through the balcony door and found themselves in the room Tony had been tossed out of by Loki. Hand in hand they made their way to the elevator. They got in and Tony pushed a button and the elevator took them a few stories down.

They were walking the hallway and Tony asked Maria.

"Do you want to be in a separate room or…?"

"Why would I?" Maria asked. "I'm your girlfriend, am I not?" she gave him one of her warm smiles.

"Alright, come here then."

Tony opened one of the door on his left.

"Welcome to my room. _Our_ room now to be specific." He put Maria's bag down.

Maria took in her surroundings. The room was really nice. It was designed in a rich style, but it was also kind of simple. The only thing that was kind of over the top was the large bed with white sheets. She didn't know if she'd ever seen a huge bed like that.

"Hmm, nice. I could get used to this."

Tony smirked.

"Better than SHIELD dorms?"

"Much better. Is Ms. Potts here?" Maria asked him.

He shook his head.

"Pepper is in Florida."

"Business or pleasure?"

"Knowing her, I would say both. Wanna take a dip in the pool or the Jacuzzi?"

"Maybe later." Maria said. "I'm kinda tired. I think I'll just go to sleep now."

Tony nodded.

"Okay, Imma head to the lab to work on something a little. If you need me at any time, just tell JARVIS to call me, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." She said already stripping. When she was only in her underwear, she opened the bag and pulled a baggy white shirt out. She took off her bra and put the shirt on. As she stood there in front of Tony in just her panties and the baggy shirt, she looked really cute.

She lifted the blanket and got under it.

"Hmm, this bed is _really _comfortable. I'm gonna sleep in." she said with a lazy smile.

Tony smiled as well.

"Now you know why it is such a problem for me to get outta bed."

He leaned on the bed and kissed her.

"Have a good sleep, Maria."

"I will. See you later."

Tony kissed her once more on her lips and on her forehead and left the room to go to his lab.


	9. Chapter 9

Maria woke up and reached out her hand to the other side of the bed. Tony still wasn't there. She opened her eyes and looked out of the window. It was dark already. She wondered what time it was. So she decided to ask.

"JARVIS, what time is it, please?"

"It's 11:13 PM, Miss Hill." The AI replied in its British accent.

Maria rubbed her eyes a little.

"Thank you."

She got out of bed and walked out of the room bare foot.

She knew Tony was still in his lab. Where else could he be? She honestly didn't understand how he was able to stay there so long working on various projects. Another one of the many mysteries of Tony Stark.

The floor was cold against her bare feet as she walked to the elevator. When she reached it, she got in and then she remembered something.

She didn't know which floor Tony's lab was on.

"JARVIS, where's Tony?"

"Mr. Stark is in his lab on the 40th floor."

Maria then pressed the button and watched the elevator doors close. She leaned her back into the back wall and waited as the elevator made its way down.

Then it stopped, the sliding doors opened, Maria got out and started walking down the wide corridor to find Tony.

She found him in the very back in a room with computers and other tech in it. She grabbed the door handle and walked in.

Tony was working on the Mark VIII suit. Still only in holograph he was adding stuff, then taking it out, mumbling something to himself or asking JARVIS something every now and then.

When he spotted Maria, he smiled at her.

"Hey, Maria. Did you sleep well?"

A smile made its way to her face too.

"Yes, thank you. You've been working all this time?"

"Well, not all of it, but most of it. This." He pointed at the holograph "is Mark VIII so far."

Maria looked at it. It was very similar to Mark VII, except some details.

Tony tapped some keys on the keyboard.

"Here, let me show you what's it gonna look like painted."

Maria walked to stand behind his chair and rested her chin on his shoulder to look at the computer screen.

Now, it was _really_ different. The colors were inverted. There was a lot of gold and the red was now the minor color.

Tony turned with the chair and looked at Maria.

"Well, what do you think? I call it The Golden Avenger."

Maria took her eyes from the screen and looked at him.

"I can't see why." She joked.

He chuckled at that.

"Yes. A change doesn't hurt from time to time."

Tony's eyes traveled slowly from her toes to her eyes, scanning her flawless body. This gorgeous sexy young woman standing in front of him in just her panties and a baggy white sleeping shirt, with bare feet, her black slightly wavy hair falling on her shoulders.

_Nothing sexier than this_ he thought.

Maria noticed the look on his face and smirked a little.

"Like what you see?" she asked him in a teasing tone.

His facial expression didn't change.

"Very much, yes."

Maria slowly walked closer to him and seated herself in his lap.

She snuggled her face into his neck.

"Come to bed." She said in a husky seductive voice.

Tony rubbed her back with his one hand. He gently grabbed her chin and pulled her lips to his.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

They got up from the chair.

"Save the Mark VIII project, JARVIS."

"As you wish, sir."

Maria grabbed Tony's hand and locked her fingers with his. They walked out of the room and JARVIS turned off the lights.

In the elevator Tony looked at Maria with a grin on his face.

"Missed me in the bed much?"

She looked at him with a similar expression.

"Yeah, you don't have any stuffed animals or stuff like that."

Tony really loved her humor.

The elevator stopped and they got out.

Tony opened the door and they walked into the room. Maria was back in the bed in an instant.

She smiled and spread her arms a bit.

"Come here." She said with a smile Tony couldn't resist.

When he changed into his PJs, he got into the bed next to Maria and snuggled close to her. He kissed her forehead and then her lips. The kiss slowly deepened and Tony didn't even notice that he was suddenly lying on his back with Maria on top of him. The kiss continued and Tony put both his hands on Maria's hips. As the whole situation heated, he slipped his hands under her shirt and began slowly grinding them on her sides. That seemed to be putting gasoline on her fire.

Tony collected his courage, grabbed her shirt and lifted it a bit.

Maria stopped kissing him for a while and for the slightest moment Tony thought he went over the line, but then she took the shirt off and threw it across the room.

Sitting topless on top of him in just the bottom part of her underwear, she began kissing him again, with even more passion this time.

Tony hugged her, his hands firmly on her warm naked back and he sat up.

Maria didn't hesitate and his shirt was gone.

Tony felt her getting hotter every second. Now she was kissing him like that one time back on the helicarrier.

She was really hot. She wanted him _now_.

After a few moments they were making love.

Maria was just like Tony imagined her to be. Really hot and wild, digging her fingernails into his back.

When he heard her moan and yell his name on occasion and felt her scratching his back, he thought he had never ever seen or heard anything quite sexy.

When they were done, lying in the bed next to each other, panting trying to catch their breath, it was one of the best and most beautiful moments of Tony's life.

He turned to lie on his side and Maria did the same. Now they were facing each other with smiles on their lips.

Neither of them said a word.

Tony put up his forefinger and traced the delicate line of her nose. He slowly made his way down not stopping even on her lips. He continued down to her chin, her neck, then her collar bone, between her breasts and down her stomach. There he traced circles around her belly button and stopped there, because Maria started giggling.

"That tickles." She said.

Tony smiled.

"I didn't know you were ticklish."

"I am. Quite a lot. On my belly and my feet."

An evil grin appeared on Tony's face.

When Maria saw it, she quickly said.

"Oh, no no no no no, don't even _think_ about that, Tony."

"About what?" he asked.

"Don't play innocent with me. I can see the wheels in your head turning."

He laughed a little.

"Yeah, alright, you got me."

Maria snuggled closer to him and kissed his lips.

"I'm good at what I do." She whispered.

"That you are." He agreed.

Silence fell between them. Tony was gently stroking her arm, then he took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"I think you completely drained me." He said.

Maria smiled.

"Yeah, it was pretty awesome."

"I'll say." He grinned.

"How long have you fantasized about this?" she asked him with a grin.

Tony grinned as well.

"Not long, really. Well it doesn't matter now."

"No, it doesn't."

Tony supported his head with his hand.

"Sharon said we're a cute couple."

Maria's expression changed a bit. She wasn't mad, but she didn't want to go public with their relationship just yet.

"You told her something?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"No. She saw me in medical sitting beside your bed, holding your hand. She put it together."

"Okay."

"What was it that you helped her with, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Some guys were picking on her when she was only starting her training. I sorted them out." she said.

"My hero. How very nice of you."

Maria smiled.

"Yeah, and I wasn't even wearing a suit of armor."

"Do you really wanna go there?" Tony asked with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Hmm…maybe some other time." She answered with a teasing smile.

Maria turned her back to Tony, he pulled her closer to him and threw a hand around her waist.

He kissed the back of her neck.

"Good night, Maria." He whispered in her ear.

"Night, Tony."

They were both sound asleep in a few moments.

In his sleep Tony snuggled even closer to Maria and continued to sleep peacefully.

Tony was slowly waking up. His eyes were still closed, but his lips formed into a smile. He felt the warmth of Maria's body that he was holding pressed against his own.

He gently took her hand and kissed her on the back of her neck. She shifted a little.

"Mmmm. Good morning, Tony." She said sleepily.

"Morning, sunshine." He said and kissed her between her shoulder blades.

This morning really was good. It was great. Tony hadn't had this kind of morning in a very long time. He couldn't even remember the last time he woke up in his bed with a woman that he actually knew and saw her more than once and the most important thing, a woman that he loved.

"Want some breakfast?" He asked her.

Maria turned to face him. She smiled.

"That would be rather nice."

Tony sat up in the bed, stretched his arms, popped his neck and got up. He gathered his clothes from the floor and got dressed.

"Well then, get dressed and get up. You can skip step one if you want to." He addressed her with a smirk.

She looked at him and smiled as well.

"Gonna take a shower first." She got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom door in all her nakedness.

Tony looked after her until he couldn't see her anymore. That body was one to kill for.

He got out of the room and headed for the kitchen to make a snack for breakfast. That he could manage. Something more on the other hand, very probably, not so much.

By the time Tony was finishing Maria's omelet, she got out of the shower, got dressed and followed him to the kitchen.

"Something smells good in here." She said as she entered the room.

Tony turned to face her with the pan in his hand.

She looked truly gorgeous. Dressed in light blue shorts and a white tank top, her hair in a short messy ponytail.

He smiled at her.

"Hello beautiful."

"I didn't know you can cook." Maria said and hopped on the counter.

Tony chuckled.

"I can't. This is the only thing I can cook without burning it and that is eatable."

She threw one piece of paprika in her mouth. Tony slapped her arm gently with the ladle.

"Hey. Go sit at the table, it's almost finished."

"Okay, I give." She smirked jumping of the counter.

She seated herself at the large table and Tony turned off the stove.

He flipped the omelet on a plate and grabbed also the plate with the vegetables. He made his way to Maria and put the plates in front of her.

"Bon appétit."

She smiled at him and gave him a gentle kiss.

"Thank you."

Tony took a seat opposite Maria and watched her eat.

She seemed to enjoy the meal which made him glad.

"It's actually pretty good, Tony."

"Thanks. Glad you like it."

She put another forkful in her mouth. When she chewed and swallowed it she spoke again.

"I'll teach you something else if you like."

"That would be good. Might come in handy." He said smiling.

Maria looked at him with the fork half way to her mouth.

"You're not gonna eat?"

"A little later." He told her.

"Well, I'll make you something then."

He smiled.

"I'd like that."

After a while Maria was done eating. She put the cutlery on the plate and rested her back on the chair comfortably.

"Thank you again, Tony. It was really good. What's our plan for the day?"

"Well, I need to fully wake up, then take a shower and then we could go see a movie or something. I'm open to any suggestions."

She nodded.

"Sounds good."

Tony stood up.

"Imma go take a shower and then we can go."

Maria remained seated.

"Okay." She said. "See you in a few."

Tony threw his clothes on the floor and stepped in the shower. As the water started pouring down on him, his energy was slowly coming back to him, he was becoming fully awake. He was so concentrated on getting rid of the annoying thoughts in his head, he didn't notice someone else stepping inside.

Suddenly he felt two small hands on his back and a gentle kiss on his neck. He smiled to himself.

"I thought you showered already."

"I did." She said and then she brought her lips to his right ear and whispered into it.

"Thought I'd keep you company."

Tony turned around and grabbed her waist.

"It _was_ getting pretty lonely in here."

They began kissing passionately. Maria pushed his back into the wall. Soon enough, they switched places.

While Tony was kissing her neck, he grabbed her legs and lifted her of the ground. She crossed her legs on his back and moaned as he slid into her.

They kissed again for a while and then Tony's mouth made its way through Maria's neck to her breasts. He sucked on her nipple, gently biting it on occasion which made her moan even more and louder.

After a while Maria couldn't hold it anymore, leaned her head back and screamed and moaned with pleasure as she climaxed.

She bit him in his neck gently and kissed him with so much passion that Tony thought they were going to burn right then and there.

He let go of her and she touched down to the ground, her knees shaking a little.

"This is a nice way to start a day." Tony said with a smirk on his face.

"It sure is." Maria agreed.

When they were done showering and everything else, they stepped out. Tony grabbed his towel and rubbed himself dry then he helped Maria dry her back.

"Thanks." She said.

"No problem. Get dressed and we can go."

With that they left the bathroom and came back into their bedroom.

Tony got dressed in some of his jeans, an AC/DC t-shirt, his leather jacket he's had all the time from graduating MIT and his black sneakers.

Maria threw on a pair of jeans that ended at her knees, a light pink t-shirt with one of the sleeves falling of her shoulder and her red and white converse.

She looked at Tony who was waiting for her by the door.

"Okay, let's go." She said and they left the room and the tower.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony and Maria were walking hand in hand down the street to the cinema. They decided to go see The Hunger Games, because Maria liked the book and Tony liked teasing Clint about it.

They got to the cinema and while they were waiting in the short line, Tony turned to Maria.

"Who do you think is better, their Katniss or our Katniss?"

She looked at him, smile tugging at her lips.

"Ask Barton." She told him. "And then run." She added.

It was their turn in the line.

"Two for The Hunger Games, please." Tony said to the cashier.

Once they had their tickets, they stepped into the lobby.

"Want some popcorn or something?" Tony asked.

Maria nodded.

They bought large popcorn and a large soda for both of them to share.

Then they made their way to the room in which the movie was going to be played. The movie usher checked their tickets and let them in. They found their seats, set the popcorn and the soda down and waited for the movie to start. Maria took Tony's hand and put her head on his shoulder.

He kissed the top of her head and began stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"This is a better date then the first one." He said.

She laughed softly.

"It wasn't that bad. It was fun."

"A piece of concrete fell on you." Tony reminded her.

"And then there was that." Maria said.

They looked at each other and started laughing.

Tony put one hand gently on her face and kissed her.

As they were kissing, the lights dimmed and the previews started. They broke the kiss, Tony gave Maria one more on her lips and looked at the screen.

None of them said a word for the whole movie. They just sat and watched holding hands.

When they were walking out of the cinema, Tony was the first to speak.

"Well, I think Legolas is a better archer. But he has a fancier bow, so I still don't know for sure."

Maria just chuckled and shook her head a little.

"Hey, let's bail the city. Come down to Malibu." He said all of a sudden.

She looked at him.

"Right now?"

"Yeah, why not?" He shrugged.

"I only have a couple of things at the tower. I would have to go to my room at the…"

Tony cut her off.

"It's only a week, not the whole summer. And we can buy you anything you need there."

Maria just stood there thinking. Tony chuckled.

"Common, you know you want to." He said and smiled with that playboy smirk of his.

She smiled.

"You got me there. I don't see why not."

Tony almost jumped with joy at her response.

"I'll call to get the jet ready." Tony said and snatched the Stark phone out of his pocket.

A minute later he put it back into his pocket and turned to Maria.

"OK. Everything's set up. Let's go."

They went back to Stark Tower for a car and Tony asked Maria.

"Wanna drive?"

"You bet." She answered with a smirk and took the keys to his Audi from his hand. Tony looked at her as she walked to the roadster, opened the door and got in.

_Damn, that's hot_ he thought. He smiled a little and followed her. He jumped into the passenger's seat without opening the door.

"Hit it." Was all he said.

Maria stuck the key into the ignition and turned it.

The engine started and hummed rhythmically. Oh how she liked it. Tony could see it on her face. She was enjoying herself. He put on his shades and Maria did the same.

Then she put it in first gear and sped out of the garage beneath the tower.

_God, this feels great. Now I understand why the rich guys enjoy it so much_ Maria thought. She was having a great time driving the Audi. The top was down, wind was playing with her hair, the sound of the engine revving…It was perfect. She took a quick glance at Tony in the passenger seat.

He was completely relaxed, just looking at the road they were passing. Suddenly he turned to face her.

"Like it?" he asked loudly.

Maria looked at him and smiled.

"What do you think?" she asked, shifted down and took a right turn to the exit that led to the airport.

After a while they were approaching the gate. When the gate man saw the car, he quickly opened, so they didn't have to stop and Maria passed, dust trail behind her.

She took the car at the runway, took a wide left curve and headed straight for the plane. She floored the accelerating pedal and continued her way still aiming for the jet. She took her foot of the pedal and let the car slow down a notch, then she stepped on the clutch, jerked the steering wheel to the left, pulled the e-brake and turned the wheel to the right. She drifted and when she was close enough to the plane, she pulled over.

She killed the engine and looked at Tony. His face didn't change. He looked at her.

"Nice one. Didn't know you can drive like this."

Maria took the keys out of the ignition and threw them to Tony.

"Should've seen me chasing Barton and Loki." She said and got out of the car.

Tony smirked and got out as well. He gave the keys to the young man from Stark Industries and followed Maria into the plane.

She was already seated in one of the comfy leather seats and looking out of the window sipping an ice tea.

Tony took the seat opposite her.

"Well, you're making yourself at home quickly." He said.

Maria just shrugged her shoulders and took another sip. She noticed Tony was looking at her like he looked at her in the quintjet before their mission.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing." He shook his head a little. "I just can't believe what a lucky man I am."

She smiled and set the bottle down on the table between them.

"You're not so bad yourself. When you're being you. Not the everyday Tony Stark, but the special you, as you'd put it before."

"Well, it's a packet deal." he deadpanned.

"So I've noticed." Maria shot right back.

Tony let out a soft laugh and gave her a peck on her lips.

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"That's all I get?" she asked him in a cocky tone.

"Want some more?"

She crossed her legs and started swinging her foot slightly in a slow rhythm.

"Well, we gotta pass the time somehow." She said seductively.

Tony noticed her left hand playing with the edge of her shirt.

After a short while a smile appeared on his face.

"Oh, hell…" was all he said before coming up to her and taking her in his arms.

Maria's hands were in his hair immediately. Tony headed for the bedroom he had in the plane. Maria bit her lower lip.

"Now, this is what I'm talking about." She said as he put her down.

She kind of caught him off guard and pushed him down on the bed.

"What the hell…"

Tony never got to finish his sentence because of the invasion of Maria's lips on his.

Some time later, Tony and Maria were lying in the bed all sweaty and panting, filled with ecstasy.

"Please tell me we're there. I can't go another round." He said earning himself a soft punch in the shoulder from Maria.

"Ouch. I'm not saying it wasn't good, just that you drained me. Again."

She turned to her side.

"I don't recall you trying to stop me."

Tony turned his head to look her in the eye.

_Oh, that smirk again_ Maria thought.

"Why would I?" he asked and Maria smiled and slowly got up from the bed.

Tony sat up in the bed looking at her naked form. He was really enjoying the view and Maria knew it. She stood in front of the bed sideways to him.

She bent over and picked up her underwear. She put one leg on the edge of the bed and slowly put her panties on. She caught a glimpse of Tony's face in her peripherals and grinned a little. He was enjoying the show. Maria turned her back to him and put her bra on, but left it unclasped.

She walked to him with a seductive face and turned her back to him again.

"Would you give me a hand?" she asked in a completely innocent voice.

She felt his hands on her sides, then they moved up and he closed the clasp. His hand started to descent down the small of her back, but before it could reach Tony's intended destination, Maria walked away.

"Thank you." She said not looking at him, smirking to herself. She liked teasing him like this.

Gathering her clothes from the floor she could feel his eyes on her. She stood straight and looked at him.

"What?" she asked.

He shook his head a bit and said: "You're a tease, you know that?"

"Ah, don't pretend you don't like it."

Tony said nothing, just chuckled. _Sexy little minx_ he thought.

He got up and got dressed as well.

Maria opened the bedroom door and walked out with Tony right behind her. He slapped her ass.

She turned and gave him a questioning slash seductive look.

"That's for the teasing." He told her and walked past her to pour himself a drink.

Maria smiled.

"Pour me some cognac, please." She asked him.

"Coming right up." He said, put a glass on the small counter and poured a small amount of the gold liquor in it.

"Here you go."

"Thanks." She said taking the glass.

As she took a sip it tasted really good. Well, it was Tony; he always got the good stuff.

Tony set his glass down on the counter and walked to the sound system. He turned it on. A party song started playing.

"Nope." He said and changed the song.

There was silence and then a soft noir jazz song started to play.

"That's more like it." He said and walked back to Maria.

She looked at him with one eyebrow slightly raised and the glass gently touching her lower lip as she was about to take another sip of her drink.

Tony stood in front of her and held out his hand.

"May I have a dance?"

Maria's lips formed a smile, she put the drink down and took Tony's hand. They walked to the center of the common area of the plane. Tony put his other hand on her waist, pulled her closer to him and they started dancing slowly turning looking into each other's eyes.

After a short while Maria rested her head on Tony's shoulder. She really liked this and certainly didn't expect it. She had to admit, he was a man of surprises.

While they were dancing, Tony heard Maria sigh a little.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

She gently shook her head.

"No. I really like this."

"Well, I'm glad."

"And I certainly didn't see this coming." She added with a smile on her lips.

Tony smiled as well.

"I didn't too, to tell you the truth. It was a thought of the moment. I just went with it."

"That's your style."

"That's my style." He agreed.

Silence fell between them again. There was nothing to be said. They were simply enjoying the moment.

Then the pilot announced that they will be landing in fifteen minutes. They acknowledged this and got back to their seats after a moment.

After the landing, they got out of the plane and went to the car that was waiting for them. The chauffer was standing beside the car. It was Happy.

"Hey, Haps." Tony greeted him, shaking his hand.

"Hi, Tony." He smiled back.

"Where are my manners?" Tony said. "Happy, this is Maria, Maria, this is my driver and bodyguard and my very good friend Happy Hogan."

Maria shook Happy's hand.

"Maria Hill." She introduced herself smiling at him. It was rather nice doing thin unofficially.

"Harold Hogan. But, as you already know, everyone calls me Happy."

Tony clapped his hands together.

"Okay, introductions are done, we shall go."

"Roger that, sir." Happy said and got into the driver's seat, Maria and Tony got in the back seat and they sped off.


	11. Chapter 11

After a not so long drive, Happy pulled over right in front of The Stark mansion in Malibu. Maria sure was impressed. Sure she'd heard from Natasha what the place looked like, but seeing it with her own eyes was something else entirely.

_Wouldn't mind living here_ she thought as she got out of the car.

"Do you need anything else, Tony?" Happy asked.

Tony shook his head. "No, nothing, Haps. You're free for the rest of the day."

"Okay. Thanks, I think I'll go play some golf." Happy said and Tony smiled a bit.

"Where'd you get this one?"

"Work. The hero business." Came Tony's answer.

Happy nodded. "She looks nice. And you look like you're serious this time."

"I am." Tony confirmed.

"Well, that's good. It's been way too long."

Tony put a hand on Happy's shoulder. "Thanks, pal. Don't wanna keep her waiting much longer. Have a good one."

"Yeah, you too. Bye."

Tony got out of the car and started walking to the front door with Maria.

"You took a while. What were you two talking about?"

"Guy stuff." He said with a grin.

Tony opened the door and walked in, Maria right behind him.

"Wow." She muttered.

"Wake up, daddy's home." Tony called in the empty house.

JARVIS' voice welcomed them.

"Welcome home, sir."

Maria looked around.

"You have JARVIS here as well?"

"Yep. Got him everywhere." He said.

She walked further into the house. Then she saw the pool on the terrace. She opened the sliding door and came to the pool. She crouched and dipped her fingers in the water a bit. It was nicely cool.

Tony came to the door and leaned on the doorframe.

"This time, I'm not gonna pass." Maria said and stood up. She took of her shirt and threw it aside. Then she slipped out of her converse, undid the button on her jean shorts and took them off as well. She bent over a little and jumped into the pool.

The cool water around her was really soothing. She swam to the other side under water. She emerged from the water and ran her hands along her hair to get it out of her face. She turned to face Tony and when he saw her, he just stood in the doorframe speechless.

_And what guy wouldn't?_ Tony thought. In her wet underwear, looking at him with those big blue eyes, her raven hair all wet and glistening in the slowly setting sun.

Maria tilted her head to the right a bit and smiled.

"Come join me." She said.

He said nothing; he just kept looking at her. She started swimming back to him slowly.

She reached the edge of the pool, folded her hands on the ground and rested her chin on them.

"C'mon." Maria smiled and decided to turn his weapons against him. She tilted her head a bit to the right and said "you know you want to."

Tony smiled and came to her. He crouched and gave her a kiss.

"You got me there, sunshine." And just like that he threw himself in the water. With all his clothes on.

Maria started laughing.

"I thought you were gonna take those off." She managed to say between laughs.

"Why waste time? I took my phone out of my pocket when we entered the house and the clothes will dry out." He said.

Maria laughed again and pushed Tony under water. Soon he emerged waving his hands around and yelling in a playful matter.

"Help! People help! She's trying to kill me!"

"Hush, you." She told him and splashed water in his face.

Tony grabbed her and hugged her tightly and gave her a mocking look.

"And what are you going to do now, Ms. Hill?"

She just smirked.

"Nothing. I surrender, oh mighty Iron Man. My strength is no match to yours. Please have mercy."

Their lips locked. When they came apart, Tony said to Maria.

"Now I know you're lying, but okay."

"I would never lie to you, fine sir." She said in a British accent.

Tony grinned.

"Are you sure about that, my lady?"

"Very." Maria answered.

They kissed and then she came out of the water and Tony did the same.

Maria collected her clothes and entered the house with Tony right behind her, dripping wet, leaving little pools of water every where he went.

"Where's the bedroom?" Maria asked.

"Follow me, I'll show you." Tony said and took the lead.

As they were walking the halls of the house, it looked even larger than from outside to Maria. She honestly thought she would need a map not to get lost.

Finally Tony opened a door and they came into a bedroom that was kind of familiar to the one it the tower.

There was a huge bed and one of the walls was completely made of glass. The view was spectacular. The ocean with the huge orange-red ball that was the setting sun. It was really breath taking.

"Here we are." Said Tony and ripped Maria out of her day dreaming.

She smiled at him.

"I could really get used to this."

"And you can." He told her.

"As much as I would like that, I am a SHIELD agent. I have to be at base."

Tony smirked and said.

„One can still dream."

Maria gave him a peck on the cheek.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower, otherwise my skin will get all dry from the pool water."

"Yeah, bathroom is just at the end of the hall. The right door."

Maria walked out of the room and Tony sat on the bed and started browsing on his Stark phone.

"Sir, someone is here to see you." JARVIS told him after a while.

"Who is it?" Tony asked.

"She didn't say, sir."

Tony frowned.

"She?" he asked the AI.

"Yes, sir."

Tony sighed and decided to take a look. He came down the stairs and made his way to the front door through the lobby.

When he opened the door, he couldn't have been more surprised.

"Hey, Tony." She greeted.

He just stood there speechless.

He simply couldn't believe his eyes. He hadn't seen her for quite some time, but it was her, he was sure.

Those hazelnut eyes, long brown hair and that gentle smile.

His voice finally came back and he greeted her back.

"Hello, Maya."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey you, guys. I know it's been WAY too long, but I just didn't know how to continue exactly and I was lazy to think of anything most of the times. But then came the time when I kicked my ass and sat down on it and thought of something for you, my lovely readers.**

**This chapter is kinda short, I'm just building towards the bigger picture here. At least I'm trying to.**

**Read and review. And just so you know, there will be action again, but not just yet. We'll have to wait a couple chapters, I guess.**

**BTW have you seen Iron Man 3 yet? MY GOD, was I blown away…**

**Anyways, have nice read, ya'll**

They kept staring at each other. Tony was still trying to fight off the shock.

"It's been a while." Maya said.

"Yes it has. _Ten years_, if I recall correctly." Tony said coldly.

There was a guilty look in her eyes. She seemed to be taken by surprise by his hostility.

He just stood there, looking at her, thinking at the speed of light what could she possibly have come to see him for. So far, he had no answer. The fact that he was still dripping wet from his little pool session with Maria wasn't helping either.

"I…I'm really sorry for bailing like that. I wanted to call, but…"

"But what?" Tony asked a little more calmly this time.

Maya hesitated.

"I got called to a project. Top secret at the time. They advised me to stay away from anyone in my old life, not just you. And after that, you get caught up in it and…you know how it goes." She finished and looked kind of nervous.

"I do. But ten years is _still_ ten years, Maya."

She pushed some hair behind her ear.

"Yes, I know that. And I'm really sorry about that."

Tony cut her off.

"Let's just cut to the chase here. Why did you come to see me now?"

Maya looked at her shoes and took a deep breath. Then she looked back at Tony.

"I need your help."

He sighed sadly.

"We haven't seen each other for ten years and now you're asking for my help?"

"I know it's crazy. But I wouldn't have come if it wasn't serious."

Tony closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his palm. It sure _was_ crazy, but at the same time he wanted to know what it was about.

He was about to reply, but a voice from behind him prevented him from doing so.

"Tony, you're leaving puddles everywhere. You should rea…Hi."

It was Maria. Great.

_This just keeps getting better and better. Damn women and their timing._ Tony thought.

"Hi. Maya Hansen." Maya introduced herself and extended her right hand for Maria to shake.

Maria took it watching her carefully.

"Maria Hill. Nice to meet you."

Tony closed his eyes and sighed. Then he spoke.

"Okay, now that the introductions are done, come see me at the office at 2PM tomorrow." He said to Maya.

"O-okay." She nodded. "Bye." Then she turned to Maria and said "nice to meet you." , turned on her heel and walked away back to her car.

Tony closed the door and looked at Maria. She was giving him a questioning look.

"Don't ask." Was all he said to her and walked away to pour himself a drink.

Maria followed him to the living room bar. By the time she got there he was already taking a swig of whiskey straight from the bottle.

"Wow. That weird, huh?"

He put the bottle back into the cabinet and nodded.

"You got no idea. Haven't seen her for ten years. And now…" he didn't finish. He didn't know how to.

Maria came to him and caressed his cheek with her hand.

"Hey. Nothing you can't handle, right?" she said and gave him a gentle smile.

He nodded his head again.

"C'mon, let's get you out of these wet clothes." Maria said to him.

Tony smiled mischievously.

"Are you having some naughty thoughts, Maria?"

She chuckled and shook her head gently.

"No. Just don't want you to catch a cold."

"If you say so." Tony said nonchalantly.

True to Maria's word, they didn't end up in bed. Tony was sitting on the bed in their bedroom, now completely dried up and in dry clothes. Maria was sitting by his right side thinking about what she should say. And the Tony saved her the trouble.

"We met back at MIT. I was almost done, she was just a freshman. A little genius she was. You could say I finally found my match." He sighed and continued; Maria listening to him and looking at him with concern.

"When she graduated as well, we worked together on some things. It was all good. Then we started dating and it was going really well. Like all other couples we had our ups and downs, but one day she was just gone. No letter, nothing. Only a card saying 'I'm really sorry for this. M.' And that was it."

He closed his eyes and rubbed on them a little. Maria took his hand.

"You're thinking about whether to help her or not?"

"Yes. I'm not sure if I want to help her after all that, but she pinched my curiosity. I would really like to see her work. And I'd also like to know what the problem is that she had to come see me like this."

She got up from the bed, crouched in front of him and put her hands on his knees.

"It's a lot on your mind right now. And it's been a long day. You should get some sleep."

Tony gently grabbed her chin and stroked it with his thumb.

"Yeah, I guess I could give it a try."

By the time he got changed into his PJs, his eyelids were already heavy and closing. He laid down and Maria did the same.

"Good night, Tony." She said.

"Night, Maria." He answered and gave her a small kiss.

His eyes closed and blackness surrounded him.

He was there again. Reliving it. The opening of the portal, fighting the Chitauri with the other Avengers…

Maria came to her senses because she could feel Tony tossing beside her on the bed. He was sweaty, his palms were clenched into fists and he was mumbling something she couldn't understand.

Flying through the portal with the nuke on his back, losing all power in the suit, then falling…

Tony shot up like a string and took a deep breath. He was shaking and sweat beads were all over his face.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're safe. You're home. It's over, you're safe." Maria said to him while holding his hand.

He closed his eyes and hid his face in his palm.

Maria let go of his hand and went to the bathroom. She returned with a glass of cold water that she handed to Tony.

"Thanks." He said and took the glass in both his shaky hands.

He took a sip of the water.

"How long have you been suffering these anxiety attacks?" Maria asked.

Tony took another sip and looked at her.

"Don't know exactly. Some time after the invasion."

He finished the cup of water and put it on the night stand.

"Nothing's been the same since New York." He added.

"No, it hasn't." she agreed.

Tony laid back. Maria did as well and snuggled close to him. He looked into her eyes.

"I can't get a good sleep, I'm lucky if I get four to five hours without these dreams. I'm going crazy."

She took his hand into hers.

"Hey, we'll get through it."

Tony gave her a sad smile.

"I hope you're right."

He gave her a peck on the lips and closed his eyes, hoping for a dreamless sleep.


End file.
